The Bid Rules Were Not Followed. |
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At CPS, the rule for awarding contracts is to get three bids and all contracts over $24,999 require board approval. A $23 million dollar bid is a significant contract, and a $23 million sole source bid is even more significant for professional services. Too many questions went unanswered as the board went to sleep on Ms. Bennett. She was supposed to be the firebrand educator; instead she was the schemer who challenged City Hall when they challenged her. She bullied the bully. In her emails to her former employer at SUPES, Triple B said she did not like being second-guessed. She should have been more than second-guessed – she should have been drilled and it should have been done in meetings with her boss, The Mayor. While Ms. Bennett will take the hit and probably wear the orange suit, the Mayor and his board are also guilty in this. They either turned a blind eye or this was gross negligence at the highest level on their parts. Why the contract in the first place? The principals already hold advanced degrees. Ongoing professional training is always appropriate in this changing world, of course, but one of the principals was vocal about the so-called unique training from SUPES and after one session declared that he would not return because it was a waste of his time. Why weren’t other bids sought, is the elephant question. Why weren’t colleges and universities in the area considered for principal training, like the University of Chicago, Roosevelt, the University of Illinois, or National Louis? That’s something else reporter Sarah Karp mentioned, that there were so many options for this kind of development already existing – why SUPES? Did any of the CPS board members ask for the “special” curriculum” of SUPES? Probably not N'DiGO. |
